Sangakkara followed up a streaky boundary down to third man with a rather more assured cover drive two balls later off Rahat Ali, but the bowler had his revenge in his next over when he trapped the number three lbw for 26.

Chandimal got off the mark with an edge through a gap in the slip cordon for four, but he failed to make the most of his let-off when, on 12, he hooked Junaid Khan to Rahat at long leg.

Silva showed his team-mate how it was done in the next over, pulling Rahat through square leg for four, while Jayawardene, demoted to number five in the order after a poor run in Tests, looked assured.

The pair continued their solid form after lunch, gathering 83 runs without loss in the session.

Silva's 50 came in the 50th over with a pulled four off the otherwise tight Saeed Ajmal and his sixth boundary - a clean cut off Rahat - moved Sri Lanka into the lead.

The 27-year-old found the ropes four more times before the tea break, while Jayawardene, playing within himself at the other end, reached fifty with a single just before the interval.